


Eve, Eve, and Emily

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Family, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 17:23:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2436827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Your father and I <i>are</i> the same man. This gets scarier by the moment.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eve, Eve, and Emily

**Author's Note:**

> Tomorrow I will work at work. Today I wrote fic.

Hotch woke up and found himself alone in bed. He looked around the room, was met with silent darkness. Getting up, he went to check Jack’s room. He was sound asleep clutching Constable Bear. Hotch smiled before adjusting the thermostat. It was a little chilly and he didn’t want Jack catching cold. The television played downstairs; out in the hallway Hotch could hear the buzz in his ear. He went down and saw his wife sitting on the couch with ice cream.

 

“Are you alright?” he asked.

 

“Yes.” Emily nodded.

 

“What time is it?”

 

“About one thirty.”

 

“Baby, what are you doing?”

 

“Watching _The Three Faces of Eve_.”

 

Hotch looked at the flat screen on the wall and saw Joanne Woodward talking to Lee J. Cobb.

 

“You're watching _The Three Faces of Eve_?” he asked crossing his arms.

 

“Mmm hmm,” Emily nodded again.

 

“Its one thirty in the morning and you're watching a movie? Are you having trouble sleeping?”

 

“No. C'mon,” she put the tub of Dibs on the coffee table, holding out her arms for him. “I know you love this film too.”

 

“I do,” Hotch settled in her arms, exhaling when Emily kissed his temple. “What are you doing up though?”

 

“I set my cell phone alarm.” Emily tried to reach her ice cream but couldn’t. Hotch handed it to her.

 

“We have this on DVD.” Hotch reasoned.

 

“Sometimes its fun to stay up late eating ice cream and watching an old favorite on cable, don't you think? What are you doing awake?”

 

“I turned over to cuddle with my wife and she was gone. I should be holding you; that’s all I wanted in the first place.”

 

Emily smiled as they changed position on the large couch. Hotch propped a pillow up on the arm, lay down and pulled his wife to him. They spooned and Emily munched on her ice cream. Hotch gently stroked her belly, seven months pregnant with their daughter.

 

“Are you going to fall asleep back there, SSA Hotchner?” Emily asked.

 

“Normally I would say yes but this film has always fascinated me. It’s based on a true story, which makes it all the more compelling.”

 

“I know. It was Natalie who hooked me on classic films. The summer after she and Daddy married, Julia and I spent six weeks with them in Maryland. I used to have trouble sleeping so I would sit in the den and read until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. One night when I wandered down there I was surprised to find her up watching a movie. 

 

“I tried to leave…I was still uncomfortable with her. It was Joanne Woodward’s face that captured me so I sat at the other end of the couch and I watched too. It changed me, and it changed my relationship with Nat. Joanne Woodward was the first movie star I obsessed over. I guess it’s good to start with one of the best. This movie started my love of classic films.”

 

“I really love your stepmother.” Hotch replied.

 

“I know that.” Emily looked back at him and grinned.

 

“Seriously. The situation she walked into when she married your father was potentially hostile but she handled it with such grace. She never coddled you or Julia or tried to be your best friend. And after the tragedy of your brother’s death…she could have crumbled but didn’t. She is still an amazing woman. She opened her arms and heart to Jack and I, absolutely no questions asked. It is not often that I see nothing but good in people.”

 

“Nat’s not perfect but she is one of the most wonderful people I know. The love she and my father share,” Emily cuddled closer to Hotch. “I never thought it would be attainable. If we can have one-half of what they have, I would be a very happy woman.”

 

“Oh no, Emily Hotchner, its all or nothing.” Hotch replied, kissing the nape of her neck. “I'm going to get it right this time. How could I not with a committed, loving woman by my side?”

 

“While I love the compliment there is one thing being with you has taught me, Hotch.”

 

“What's that?” he was still focused on her neck.

 

“All or nothing, black and white, only happens in fiction. Real life is the crevices in between; it’s all the shades of grey. Its compromise and its fighting sometimes, literally and figuratively. Even Dad and Nat fight.”

 

“I find that incredibly hard to believe.”

 

“There was the Thanksgiving I was 14. Nat was about to have Chris and Grandmother Prentiss was in rare form. My father only has one touchy subject…his mother.”

 

“Jesus,” Hotch muttered.

 

“What, honey?”

 

“Your father and I _are_ the same man. This gets scarier by the moment.”

 

Emily laughed, turning in his arms. She couldn’t see the television anymore but she could hear it. Hotch held her as close as her pregnant belly would allow him, gently kissing her lips while caressing the back of her head.

 

“I saw _The Three Faces of Eve_ for the first time when I was eleven. It was not the amazing performance of Joanne Woodward that mesmerized me. I felt in watching it, for the first time in my life, that I understood my mother.”

 

“You always said your mother was Jessica Lange in _Everybody’s All-American_. I met her and happen to agree with the assessment.”

 

“That’s Mrs. Preston.” Hotch replied. “Mrs. Hotchner was very different. My mother has clinical depression and bi-polar disorder. In the 1950s and 60s there was not a drug for everything like there is now. She could go from thinking we could fly to lying in bed crying in the span of 48 hours. It was very confusing for a little boy. When I saw that film it gave me a tiny insight into her personality aspects. I read as much as I could find on multiple personality disorder…I really thought she had it.”

 

“When was your mother diagnosed?” Emily asked.

 

“She got the clinical depression diagnosis in 1981 after my father died and bi-polar 2 years later. I'm petrified that my children will be affected. You can have a perfectly normal childhood, my mother’s was idyllic, and one day practically lose your mind. Symptoms usually manifest between the ages of 17 and 25.”

 

“Our daughter will be fine.” Emily caressed his face.

 

“What if she isn’t?” What if one day,” his voice cracked. “What if she isn’t, Em? Everyday for the rest of her life my mother has to take a handful of pills just to be balanced. Diet, therapy, sleep patterns, what she eats…everything is monitored. Her episodes were terrifying. My father even had her hospitalized a few times, though I believe that was more for his benefit than hers.”

 

“It’s the 21st century and there are an abundance of options with a diagnosis like that. Just because they may not be perfect doesn’t mean we won't love them with every fiber of our being. I worry too; I worry I am going to be an utter failure as a mother.”

 

“No way,” Hotch shook his head. “There is too much love inside of you for that to ever happen. Our little girl is going to be so lucky to have a mama like you.”

 

Emily smiled at the way he said mama. She loved that there were certain words that brought out his long-lost Southern accent. She knew Hotch was only comfortable enough in front of her to let it slip.

 

“Its just difficult sometimes,” Hotch pressed his forehead to hers. “I never want it to be as hard for our kids as it was for us.”

 

“I know, honey.”

 

They didn’t say anything for a while, just held onto each other and shared positive energy. Emily rubbed his back and he sighed against her. 

 

“Your mother loves you,” she whispered. “She has an illness and sought help as soon as she could.”

 

“She wasn’t a bad mother, I knew for a long time she was sick.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I just don’t want our kids to be…”

 

“Aaron, we will love them, take care of them, and raise them right. You cannot worry about something that may never happen. OK, yes you can, but not that. I am worrying enough for the both of us right now.”

 

“So we should stop?” Hotch asked, both hands caressing her stomach.

 

“As much as we can.” Emily replied. “Are you willing to try? And willing to try does not mean worrying and keeping it from me.”

 

“Yes, I am willing to try.”

 

“I repeat, willing to try does not mean worrying and keeping it from me.”

 

“I hear you loud and clear, baby. Scout’s honor.” Hotch kissed her nose and then sighed. “Now, we are both up rather late to watch this movie. Let’s enjoy it.”

 

Emily kissed Hotch, cupping his face. She turned around and once again focused on the television. Hotch held onto her, hoping the worries in the pit of his stomach would fade away. They were more than worries; they were fears. It was better to let them go as they were mostly irrational. Let go of the fears and hold onto the woman. He almost laughed. When Emily teetered close to the edge, Hotch always pulled her back. He was damn good at it. What he loved was that she always did the same for him. No hurdle was too large; they held hands and conquered them together.

 

“I love you, Emily Hotchner.” He kissed her shoulder.

 

“I love you too.” Emily caressed his hands.

 

“You better know I love you; it’s after two in the morning and I am watching a movie. I get precious little sleep as it is.”

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll wake you when its time to go to bed.”

 

***

                                                                                                                             



End file.
